I usually use coupons at the grocery stores and also buy their saving specials. When I get home I put the money I saved in my savings account...
Just out of curiosity... Has anyone tallied up what money they actually save with their frugal efforts? (e.g., flourscent bulbs, off-brand milk, popcorn instead of chips, air dry clothes, etx) I hear about how some frugal behavior saves loads of money, but it's hard to see it when the savings is so small. I guess I'm looking for encouragement.
The fluoro bulb and dryer cost savings can be found on power companies websites - if a dryer costs x number of $ per hour to run and you use your's for 5 hours per week that's how much you've saved if you line dry. On our group, (FrugalAussies), we have a couple of ladies who are brilliant at adding up their savings. Just start small - with the little things you've done - e.g. using a generic brand of breakfast cereal, and multiply by how many packs you use a week/month/year. Jot these down in a note book and watch them add up. Your own savings will be much more meaningful to you than someone elses. Also, one of our group set us a $1 a day challenge. If you save 10c, 20c, 30c, etc. by buying cheaper, or making do with something you already have rather than buying something, add up your savings and try to make at least $1 every day = $365+ a year with very little effort. The other motivational thing you can do is actually save that cash in a jar and watch it mount up - put it towards your credit card bill, your mortgage or use some of it to treat yourself.
Regards
Jo
A few years ago, I was out a job from my third oil company layoff, and decided to move from Houston to Galveston to get away from big city blues. That saved me a lot right there - moving to a smaller city, only an hour away! But there were fewer jobs here, all vastly lower paying, so I had to economize. Here are some of the things I did:
I'm an old lady now, but I guess my upbringing is what led me to always be inventive and saving. Dollar bills did not multiply without a lot of making do and doing without!
As a single mother, money can get very tight at times. I was tired of living paycheck to paycheck so I knew things had to change.
I've lived on my own for the last 7 months, and having been around the world, and having attended a community college, I wasn't the least bit frugal with my spending habits!
Here I am at home, between jobs, 57 years old and looking for ways to save money. I am one of the fortunate ones; I have had a small amount saved against this possibility.
Year after year, my husband says "don't spend any money" and I make lists of things we "need" and then go about getting them. Next, I sell a bunch of what I call JUNK at garage sales every so often. See a pattern here?
I use coupons when I go to the store the money that I save off my coupon I put back and save. When I get up enough I will use it and go out to eat somewhere that I like or buy myself something I don't regret it because its money I would have spent anyways.
My immigrant non-schooled Mom and jack-of-all-trades Dad supported a family of 5 with no-nonsense and common sense when it came to money.
We started our married life with only one electric fry pan, that we cooked EVERYTHING in. When we got an apartment, I started going to tag sales. Just about everything we had we got at them.
My husband is a penny pincher and that is great. He has helped our family pay off our house in 3 years. The trick is paying separate to the principal and the amount will drop fast.
It seems as if others are learning for the first time how to be frugal and enjoy it, which I have known all along, but now that prices at the pump are at an all time high, I am so happy I know how to save money!
As a teacher, off for the summer, I am especially focused on frugality. This is a time for me to review where my money has gone and why.
I struggled for years to put myself through college. When at last I was employed, and besieged by credit card offers, I was not very wise. I had lived so lean for so long that the temptation was too strong; and I went under.
I have been frugal all my life. When I was young, it was called "living country". You saved everything and found another use for it.
In the difficult financial times that many of us have found ourselves in over the past few years, giving up two well paid and secure jobs to take up one reasonably paid one in a new start up company in another country may seem a pretty strange proposition to put forward.
